Daily Dothttp://www.dailydot.com/Daily Dot Articleen-usMon, 02 Jul 2012 16:54:04 +0000Cory Booker debuts #waywire, a news site for millennialshttp://www.dailydot.com/news/cory-booker-waywire-news-site/<p><img src='http://cdn0.dailydot.com/cache/3a/2c/3a2c01a16368710f3957a71b433141a0.jpg'></p><p>
Cory Booker is a lot of things: mayor, tweeter-in-chief, <a href="http://www.dailydot.com/news/super-cory-booker-meme-tumblr/">hero</a>, and now online media mogul.</p>
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The Newark, NJ mayor <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/30/waywire/">announced Sunday</a> the creation of <a href="http://waywire.com/">#waywire</a>, a news and video aggregation site aimed toward millennials. The site is currently in private beta and is expected to launch later this year.</p>
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Booker said the methods traditional media outlets, like CNN, are using to connect with millennials aren&rsquo;t working and that the news networks need to be shaken up and diversified.</p>
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&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always been very compelled about the democratizing force in social media that is getting more voices engaged in the larger dialogue,&rdquo; Booker said <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/newark_mayor_cory_booker_plans.html">told NJ.com</a>. The site will be aimed toward millennials as a way &ldquo;to let their own voices be heard, engage in a different way.&rdquo;</p>
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Videos on the site will be a mix of syndicated, original, and user-submitted content. Topics to be discussed on the site, according to the site&rsquo;s introduction video, include equality, economic, and global issues.</p>
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#Waywire has nearly $2 million in funding and is backed by an army of high-profile celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey, Google&rsquo;s Eric Schmidt, and Lady Gaga&rsquo;s manager, Troy Carter. The site will hire 10 employees to curate videos.</p>
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It sounds a bit like Current&rsquo;s mission during the television network&rsquo;s first iteration, except that #waywire has a newsier focus. The online video aggregation field is crowded, but perhaps Booker&rsquo;s appeal, along with other well-known names, could help break through it.</p>
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<iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="365" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JYP_kePE1jk?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="630"></iframe></p>
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<em>Photo via YouTube</em></p>
jordan-valinsky-1Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:54:04 +0000http://www.dailydot.com/news/cory-booker-waywire-news-site/YouTubeNews